The Christmas Proposal - Miley Maine Page 0,24

my stresses.

“You were handsome, I was reaching that age where I was thinking about things.” She looked down at her plate and grabbed a roll of bread from the basket our waiter had brought by. “And you were so nice to me, too.”

I tilted my head to the side and frowned, looking at her in a questioning manner. “Were the other boys not nice?”

She shook her head. “Not like you. You were always so kind to me, but the boys at school and the boys my age never really were. They always found something to pick on me for.”

I looked at her with sad eyes, reaching across the table to squeeze her hand. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I thought it was just normal,” she said with a shrug. “You were the exception—like my fairy tale prince.”

“You know I would have done something about it if I had known, right?”

She looked up at me with a smile. “I’m sure you would have, but that’s in the past now. Now I know that it’s not okay, and I don’t let people treat me like that anymore.”

“Good,” I said firmly. “You’re too important for people to act that way towards you.”

She blushed, looking at me with a smile. “You really think so?”

“Of course, you’re a wonderful person and you’re important to me. You’re my best friend’s little sister, after all, and I always felt like you were kind of like mine.”

She looked back down at her plate, ripping open the roll of bread and then reaching for the butter. She spread it thick and then brought it up to her mouth to take a bite. “You should try the bread,” she said. “It’s very tasty.”

“I know, I’ve been here before, remember?” I said with a chuckle, reminding her of her words.

“Just, umm, trying to fill the space,” she said awkwardly, taking another bite of the bread.

“I know, but you don’t have to worry about that,” I said, placing a hand on her shoulder. “It’s alright to be yourself with me, remember that.”

She looked up at me with a blush and a smile. “Thank you, I really appreciate that.”

“Of course.”

Our waiter came then with our food. “Enjoy,” he said, setting the plates down. “Let me know if there is anything else I can get for you.”

I thanked him, and then turned back to Serenity, who was already digging into her food. She looked up at me with a sheepish smile. “I told you I was hungry,” she said by way of explanation.

I laughed. “Don’t worry. Like I said, you don’t need to explain yourself to me.”

The food was delicious and the conversation even better. We spent the night reminiscing over old childhood memories and catching up on the many things that had happened while we were apart. While I’d kept in touch with Sebastian over the years, there were so many things you just couldn’t fit in a bi-monthly phone call and I was realizing how much I’d missed out.

I was also realizing more and more that I liked having Serenity as a friend, and I found myself wishing that I had kept in contact with her over the years, too. I was definitely going to try to keep in contact with her from now on, because I enjoyed her company and the interesting perspective that she brought to things. She was so different from the people I usually spent my time with, business people who focused on little else.

We finished the night with a quick dessert, and then it was time for me to take her home and get us both settled in before the long day of work that we had ahead of us tomorrow.

Chapter Nine

Serenity

After we had finished dessert and Grayson paid the bill for our meal, we walked back out to the car. I was already feeling exhausted, though I knew it technically hadn’t even been that long of a day, at least by his standards.

“You sleepy?” he asked, looking at me with kind eyes.

I nodded, suppressing a yawn. “It certainly seems that way.”

“We’ll be home soon,” he said. “Then you can get some rest. It’ll be an even longer day tomorrow after all.”

“It will?” I groaned. It was one thing to suspect it, another for him to confirm it. He let out a short laugh before opening the door for me and helping me in, then coming around to the driver’s side.

“You’re welcome to stay home if you need to,” he said after he had closed his door and